Avoiding Plagiarism: Learning What is Plagiarism

Plagiarism, a word commonly heard these days. Just what constitutes plagiarism? Well, plagiarism is the use of word of ideas that are not your own and presenting them as if they were your own, without acknowledging and taking credit for someone else’s work. Plagiarism is considered a type of intellectual theft, and it is on the rise with the increased use of the Internet and the convenience of access to information it offers.

There are many forms of plagiarism, ranging from deliberately cheating (copying) to accidentally copying from a source without proper acknowledgment. Whenever words or ideas from another person’s work are used, you have to acknowledge where they came from. By learning how to reference properly, you will be able to clearly specify where you received your inspiration from and show the depth of your research and understanding.

One of the best ways to avoid plagiarism is to understand what it is and how to best avoid committing it. Although the Internet can be a great source of information, with readily available information, it does not imply that it is necessarily “free”. Information found on the Internet should be referenced, just like any other source; it should be fully acknowledged and evaluated in the same way you would information from print-based sources...Read more>>